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12 December 2011

Be Kind to You

It's become more apparent in recent times how crucial it is that I be kind to myself, or at least not completely unkind. For the longest time, I've been one of my own worst enemies, and still am. I put myself down constantly, and for no good darn reason.

But what good does it do for one to be unkind to oneself? None, really. I mean, it has pushed me to work harder, to be a perfectionist, but at what cost? I'm always expecting more out of myself than what I can give, and I will never be satisfied with what I've done. It also can lead to a lower self-esteem: perhaps the person will begin to believe that they deserve the unkind treatment, or even expect it from others.

This self-perpetuating cycle has already begun in me- I'm unkind to myself all the time and I realise it. The thing is, I can work on changing it. I can tell myself kind things, even if I don't yet believe them. It's not something that has to last this way. I can change. That's one of the good things about human behaviour- if you want, you can change what is maladaptive and make it more suitable for a functional life.

It'll be difficult. I'm trying my best to be kind to myself. The current challenge is one kind thing about myself a week. Can I do it? Can you?

1 comment:

Glad you have noticed yourself being unappreciative of yourself and that you're trying to do something about it.I don't quite know where I am with my opinions about myself, LOL! I'm still moderately depressed, mostly from my long unemployment and having no encouragement from people in my field that I will ever work again. This relates to my total lack of income & having to be dependent. I've always HATED being dependent economically. But I do think my abilities are OK and that I can do well once I get back into my studies. So I still thrash myself about not having "what it takes" to be employable but not for the abilities that I SEE in being able to know and understand the stuff it takes to be a postgrad in my field!So I'm kind about some things and definitely NOT about others! I'm certainly no perfectionist, that's for sure.